Riding the River

Exhibit: Klondike Gold Rush - The Perilous Journey North

With the thaw in May 1898, about 7,000 boats of all types began the 500-mile Yukon River journey from the lakes to Dawson. This journey took about three weeks, but it was not an easy ride. Wild rapids tested stampeders. The worst were Miles Canyon, White Horse, Five Fingers and the Rink. Stampeders lost boats and outfits, and some drowned, but most arrived safely in Dawson by the summer of 1898.